Going, Going, Gone
by shinyget
Summary: Immortality doesn't come cheap, something Shadow is cursed to remember as he's the sole surviving member of his team. Contains character death, angst, and some violence.


Rouge was first to go. It happened sooner than anyone expected, given how careful she always was, but mistakes were bound to be made somewhere along the line.

Given the nature of the mission, Rouge had been assigned to it with Shadow. Their goal was to not only infiltrate one of Eggman's new bases, but to shut it down permanently. Routine and simple enough to do. Rouge would sneak inside and ensure that there were no surprises waiting for the duo and the powerhouse of the team would speedily make his way inside to help her finish things up. At most, the mission should have taken only a few hours.

But a snag had been hit, about halfway through. Rouge had tripped an alarm, ruining her streak of perfect runs through the Doctor's bases. The shuffle of metallic feet was heard, rushing towards her location. With no time left to hide, the agent stood her ground, prepared to take out the robots that came towards her. Swiftly and with deadly grace, she put her iron boots of hers to use, leaving devastating dents in the armor if her foot didn't go all the way through it. One of the smaller robots was sent flying back into the machinery that crowded the room. A spark went flying from one to the other, hitting into the new hole that had been made by the robot.

Rouge only had the chance to stop for a moment and stare wide-eyed as the explosion overcame her. If her communicator had gone off during the fight, she hadn't noticed.

-

It had been over an hour since the bat slipped inside and she had yet to check in with him. While he had every ounce of faith in her to accomplish her task without any trouble, it wasn't like her to go this long without giving an update.

Shadow switched on his communicator and didn't allow the worry to show in his voice. "Rouge?"

No response. That settled it. He didn't spend another second outside as he made his way into the base. As soon as he entered, he heard a loud noise coming from farther within, something that was undoubtly the sound of an explosion. What the hell had happened and why hadn't she called him for help?! It took him less than a minute to make it to the source, which was far too late to do anything.

The scene he was greeted with was gruesome at best and all he could seem to do was take it in while stuck in a state of disbelief. Someone had died in here. And the only someone he knew to be heading in the area of the carnage was his ally, his _friend_. The deal was sealed when he stepped further in and picked up a piece of iron, painted pink. None of the Doctor's robots were this color, the only one he knew to use such a thing was Rouge. Images of her walking down the corridors of GUN Headquarters after they had received the mission, wearing the very boots it had come from, flashed through his mind.

He wouldn't soon forget it.

Rouge was still alive, vividly so, in his mind. How could she have gone down so easily? Sometimes, he had forgotten his allies own mortality, how easy it was for them to be destroyed. If only he had asked about her sooner, if only he had gone to find her before something like _this_ happened… No, he couldn't blame himself. But even as he thought that, the guilt remained, just as cutting as the fact that he would have to report back this failure, _alone_. It served as a reminder of why he didn't want anyone to get close to him. She was a strong woman, but even she couldn't stand up to such a force.

The iron in his hand turned to dust as he crushed it. She hadn't deserved this, to _die_ in some run-down base because of a mishap. The point of him being along on this mission was to ensure something like this didn't happen. Yet again, he had failed to do what the Professor had designed him for, to be a savior for the people on Earth. He hadn't been able to save Maria back then and he hadn't been able to save Rouge now.

Shadow began to pace around the room, moving the machinery and destroyed robot parts out of the way. If he had a lesser constitution, the sight of blood splattered, riddled with what he knew had once been his friend would have made him vomit. He couldn't allow this to happen again. If it required him to distance himself from anyone considered 'mortal,' then that's what he'd do. Shadow didn't need another liability, another friend to vanish from reach.

The search yielded the cause of the accident and he smashed the bits that were left of the robot slumped against the machine under his shoe. This was all it had taken to bring her down. Some Egg Pawn that had been damaged and faulty equipment. A Chaos Spear was sent at the panel attached to the wall in a brief fit of rage, the closet he could come to getting revenge on her 'murderer.'

The least he could do for her now was gather up the remains and provide a proper burial, even if the most recognizable parts he could find were remains of the iron boots she wielded with pride. He didn't know who to invite or who would show up, but at the least she deserved to have him and Omega turn out to her funeral. It was all he could do for her now.

-

It would be decades later before Shadow would have to experience that same feeling of loss. Routine maintenance could only do so much when years of use would finally wear down parts enough to be replaced. It wasn't unusual for Omega to need something new to keep him functioning, but it was the first time that the part he needed was no longer in production and impossible to find. Eggman had long passed on and the only other competent mechanic that Shadow knew of, Tails, had died of natural causes only a couple years prior.

There were few options for him to turn to and in the best interests of his friend, Shadow brought the helpless robot to a renowned, human mechanic. He didn't know his name, not that it mattered, as long as he was capable of figuring out a solution.

It had taken a massive leap of faith for Shadow to leave the mechanic alone with the robot. At the man's insistence, Shadow waited outside the room, making it clear that if anything went wrong, it would all be on his head. He had never been patient and while he waited, he gave off an unsettling calm as he leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest. The last member of his team was being worked on by someone who was incredibly incompetent when compared to the robot's original creator, but it was the only option he had. Who else could he turn to? If GUN got their hands on the last of the E-series, they were bound to mess around far more than they should and could even go as far as to dismantle him to build more for their own uses.

His thoughts were disrupted by the sounds of sparks flying and the metallic clank of a wrench being dropped on the floor. Immediately, Shadow threw open the door, revealing the mechanic standing over the robot in shock.

"I didn't think…"

"You're right, you didn't." Shadow didn't have time to listen to the mechanic's babble, rushing the man as the anger inside him bubbled. It was the first time in the man's life that he had ever been decked so hard, and by a three foot tall hedgehog, at that.

Whatever the man's mistake was, it had left Omega in even worse shape than before. Shadow bent down in front of his friend, examining the circuits he could see. His knowledge of robotics was limited, but he knew the inner workings of his ally well enough to figure out what the effects were. One glance and he could see the hard drive had taken a hit, sparks flying off of it. Shadow's eyes darted up to the robot's face, catching the faint glimmer of light that was still there.

"Omega?"

"SCANNING… NEW… SUBJECT…"

As the light faded to black, the last sound that rang in Shadow's ears before his rage took over was the loud clank of Omega hitting the floor as he slumped over. Nothing could reach the hedgehog now; his last ally in this world, the last being he could trust was now _dead_. And all because of some human's careless mistake.

The mechanic didn't have a chance to follow his instincts and run. The last thing he saw was a flash of black appearing in his face before a carefully controlled blast engulfed him, ending his life then and there.

It had taken all of Shadow's efforts to keep the Chaos Energy from going beyond his abilities. It was already too close to the body of his friend, and any more may have damaged him further.

The ashes of the human male seemed suspended in air for a moment, but when they finally floated to the ground, Shadow took a moment to smash them further into the wood paneling, almost creating a hole. That bastard was the cause of this. But he himself had been the one to ultimately make the decision to visit this particular human, all based on supposed merit. Snarling, Shadow slowly turned around to face the robot again, expression softening slightly at the sight.

It was strange, seeing his once powerful ally laying lifeless on the ground.

Finally, it had happened. He was alone. Truly and ultimately.

He had known it would happen eventually. Omega couldn't have run forever. Eventually something would come up in a maintenance check that couldn't be repaired, but he had never imagined his friend would go like _this_. Another mistake had claimed yet another person he cared about. Another mistake he could have avoided.

Before he knew it, his fist went flying, straight into the wall that Omega had been leaning up against at the start of all this. The brick gave way easily under his hand and the minor pain he felt at it barely registered in his mind. There was no one left in this world he could trust. Not even some stranger could be given enough credit to not screw up their own job.

Slowly, his senses were returning to him. The first to return was sound, the noises of his ragged breathing reaching his ears as he tried to get a grip on himself. Feeling gave way to numbness, a preferred alternative to the pain he didn't want to deal with.

Shadow didn't leave the workshop for hours.

-

There.

As one final act towards his fallen companion, Shadow had carefully moved the damaged robot to a more serene location. A funeral didn't seem right and leaving him there would result in Omega being tossed in a junk yard once he was deemed 'worthless.' The hedgehog held back a look of disgust, not wanting to ruin his last memory he'd have of his friend.

Nothing had stood out to him about this hilltop besides the large, lone tree at the top and the remote location. It was a good place as any to leave him. Even if plants began to grow on him and run through his circuitry, it was better than burying him in the ground or leaving him near those detestable humans who would likely dismantle him for spare parts or throw him away.

For a while, Shadow just stared at the dim eyes—the same eyes he had looked into and learned that his friend couldn't even remember him in his last moments. His fists clenched at the all-too-fresh memory that played in his mind and the grind of his teeth was filled with the rage he was fighting hard to suppress

It wasn't the time for that. Now, he needed to honor his friend.

He never was good with words or farewells, and the knowledge that after he left this place he would be in solitude for the rest of his unnatural life made him linger.

He wouldn't let anyone else get close to him. He knew he couldn't handle a repeat of this and wouldn't allow it. Maria, the Professor, Rouge, Omega… The list of those he had cared about and lost had grown far too long and Omega's would be the last to grace it.

The only goodbye that seemed proper in this scenario was simple. Crouching down on one knee, Shadow rested in front of Omega for a moment, before leaning in to wrap his arms around the robot.

"Goodbye."


End file.
